‘C’ Squadron, 9 RTR, 31st Tank Brigade, Normandy 1944
As if the lockdown weren’t already tedious enough, here I am again with the second part of my Churchill tank waffle! And there was much rejoicing. Yay. If you’re still here, this time I’m looking in a bit more detail at organisations and vehicle markings.
As discussed in Part 1, there were three Tank Brigades in 21st Army Group (i.e. NW Europe from 1944-1945 – Normandy to Germany); the 31st Tank Brigade, 34th Tank Brigade and 6th Guards Tank Brigade. Theoretically distinct from Armoured Brigades, the Tank Brigades were equipped with ‘Infantry Tanks‘, which were thickly-armoured and designed to provide close support to infantry in the assault over difficult terrain. By 1944 this role was filled exclusively by the Churchill series (a.k.a. Infantry Tank Mk IV). Armoured Brigades by contrast, were meant to be massed in Armoured Divisions and filled with ‘Cruiser Tanks‘ (which by 1944 meant the Cromwell series), designed to exploit the gaps in enemy lines and flow through en masse to exploit the enemy’s vulnerable rear.
In reality, the production of both Churchill and Cromwell tanks fell far short of the numbers required. Only two Armoured Brigades were equipped with Cromwell (22nd Armoured Brigade & 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade) and only five Tank Brigades (the 6th Guards, 31st & 34th in NW Europe and the 21st and 25th in Italy) were equipped with Churchill. The 1st Armoured Engineer Brigade were also equipped with a Churchill variant, the AVRE. The Indian 254th Tank Brigade were also starting to re-equip with Churchill at the war’s end, though never saw action with the type.
The remaining 25 (or thereabouts) Tank & Armoured Brigades under Commonwealth command worldwide were equipped with American Sherman Medium Tanks (except for the 50th and 254th Indian Tank Brigades in Burma, still equipped with Lee/Grant Medium Tanks and the 4th Australian Armoured Brigade in the Pacific, still equipped with Grant Medium Tanks and Matilda Mk II Infantry Tanks). The Sherman had much the same firepower as the Cromwell and Churchill, though had the potential to be upgraded to ‘Firefly‘ standard with the superb 17pdr gun. However, like the Cromwell, it had mediocre armour-protection. In terms of mobility the Sherman had superb mechanical reliability, though was slower than Cromwell and a lot faster than Churchill. Nevertheless, the stoic Churchill could go places that other types simply could not (as amply demonstrated in the Battle of the Reichswald).
A pair of Churchill Mk VIIs belonging to 107 RAC push through the Reichswald mud, 1945
Five independent Brigades in 21st Army Group (2nd Canadian, 4th, 8th, 27th and 33rd Armoured Brigades) were equipped with Sherman and were therefore designated as Armoured Brigades, even though they were there to provide close infantry support and do the exact same job as the Tank Brigades… The Armoured Brigades assigned to Armoured Divisions also often found themselves employed in the infantry support role… It’s therefore safe to say that the doctrinal lines between ‘Tank’ and ‘Armoured’ Brigades became extremely blurred in the later half of the war.
Here’s a basic organisational diagram for a Tank Brigade (though I’ve only included the ‘teeth’). Note that they would never fight as a unified brigade, but instead existed as a ‘holding formation’, allocating individual Regiments and Squadrons (sometimes as little as a Half-Squadron) to support infantry formations. There was therefore no organic Motor Infantry, Field Artillery, etc.:
Notes on Tank Brigade Organisation
(a) The 31st Tank Brigade differed slightly from this organisation, in that it had only two ‘normal’ Tank Regiments. The third regiment was equipped with Crocodiles and operated on a semi-independent basis. In September 1944 the brigade was reorganized as two Crocodile Regiments and in November 1944 was brought back up to full strength with a third Crocodile Regiment.
(b) Command Tanks could be Churchills of any 6pdr or 75mm-armed type, but were increasingly upgraded to Mk VII. 34th Tank Brigade arrived in Normandy with 24x Mk VIIs, all of which were allocated to Regt, Sqn and (some) Troop Commanders. In Crocodile-equipped Squadrons, Sqn HQ tanks tended to be Mk IV (75mm) or Mk VI.
(c) OP Tanks were mainly Churchill Mk III or Mk IV. They were armed with a 6pdr or 75mm gun and had an extra radio for the use of an attached FOO.
(d) The Intercom Troop (sometimes known as the Liaison Troop) was equipped with Humber Scout Cars. These would be embedded with neighbouring unit HQs, in order to provide a direct radio link and liaison officer.
(e) Recce Troops were very large – 11x Stuart Light Tanks and almost the size of a Squadron in their own right and often referred to as the ‘Recce Squadron’ in many accounts. The Recce Troops of 31st & 34th Tank Brigades were equipped with Stuart Mk III Light Tanks (M3A1), while 6th Guards Tank Brigade had Stuart Mk V (M3A3) and Mk VI (M5). Some of these were ‘jalopied’ as the campaign went on. Details are difficult to obtain, but a typical pattern was to retain one turreted Stuart in each ‘Patrol’ of three (this was the system used by 7th Armoured Division).
(f) Regimental Anti-Aircraft (AA) Troops were equipped with Crusader AA Mk II Tanks, armed with twin 20mm Polsten Guns. However, the AA Troops were disbanded during the Normandy Campaign. Nevertheless, some regiments retained one or two Crusader AA Tanks as part of the HQ Troop.
(g) Close Support (CS) Tanks were all Churchill Mk V.
(h) Two tanks in each Troop were typically armed with 75mm guns (Churchill Mk III*, Mk IV (75mm) or Mk VI, with possibly a Mk VII for some lucky Troop Commanders). The third tank was armed with a 6pdr (Mk III or Mk IV). There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that some units of 34th Tank Brigade managed to retain enough 6pdr tanks to deploy to Normandy with the ratio reversed – 1x 75mm to 2x 6pdr. However, heavy combat losses during Operation GREENLINE and the Battle of Grimbosq meant that the ratio soon settled out to the normal ratio and this is reflected in their 1st December 1944 strength return.
A Churchill Mk IV OP of 9 RTR’s HQ Sqn, together with a Humber Scout Car of the Intercom Troop.
31st Tank Brigade
The badge of the 31st Tank Brigade was a green ‘diablo’ (i.e. the up-ended bow-tie symbol shown above). Some units (such as 33rd Armoured Brigade, which had a green and black diablo sign) would paint a thin white line around the diablo to make it stand out against the olive drab, but 31st Tank Brigade do not appear to have done this. With their transfer to 79th Armoured Division in September 1944 they adopted the triangular Bull’s Head badge of that division (above), though some crews appear to have painted the green diablo on their tanks in addition to the Bull.
A Churchill Mk IV (75mm) or Mk VI of 7 RTR in Normandy (note the ‘991’ serial)
A Crocodile of 7 RTR after their incorporation into 79th Armoured Division.
The white diagonal slash through the Arm-of-Service sign, going from top-left to bottom-right indicates Army Group Troops (i.e. units and formations reporting directly to an Army Group Headquarters, in this case 21st Army Group). The observant will have noticed that I painted mine wrong – from top-right to bottom-left, which actually indicates Lines-of-Communication Troops. That SHOULD have taught me to stop relying on my faulty memory (or the Flames of War painting guide and Jean Bouchery’s ‘The British Soldier’ book, which both repeat the error), but articles on this blog clearly demonstrate that I have not learned my lesson…
* In September 1944, 9 RTR transferred to 34th Tank Brigade and was replaced in November 1944 by 1st Battalion, Fife & Forfar Yeomanry (1 F&FY), who adopted the markings formerly carried by 9 RTR. Thankfully, they slotted into the same seniority slot, so 7 RTR and 141 RAC did not have to repaint their markings to make way for 1 F&FY.
A Crocodile of 141 RAC supporting US troops at Brest, September 1944. This photo gives an excellent indication of the remarkable range of the Crocodile’s flame-projector (roughly 200 yards).
34th Tank Brigade
The white bar beneath the Arm-of-Service sign indicates Army Troops (i.e. units reporting directly to an Army HQ, in this case British 2nd Army. A white bar above the AoS sign would indicate Corps Troops.
The vehicles of 34th Tank Brigade were painted with both the ‘mailed fist and mace’ badge of the brigade and with the shield of 2nd Army.
* In September 1944, 9 RTR transferred from 31st Tank Brigade to 34th Tank Brigade, replacing 153 RAC. 9 RTR now became the senior regiment in the brigade and therefore took the markings previously carried by 107 RAC (156 serial with red squadron signs). 107 RAC and 147 RAC were bumped down the pecking-order and similarly had to repaint their markings.
To explain the concept of ‘seniority’, regiments on parade line up in order of seniority and the same applies to brigade markings, as shown on this list (senior at the top, junior at the bottom):
1. Dragoon Guards (seniority by number)
2. Cavalry of the Line (Hussars, Dragoons and Lancers – seniority by number)
3. Regular RTR Regiments (1-12 RTR – seniority by number)
4. Yeomanry Regiments (i.e. Territorial Cavalry Regiments – seniority by date of formation)
5. Territorial RTR Regiments (40-51 RTR – seniority by number)
6. RAC Regiments (infantry battalions converted to armour – seniority by number)
7. Indian Cavalry Regiments (seniority by number)
Where the Foot Guards Battalions converted to armour fitted into all this is anyone’s guess, but thankfully they were never brigaded with anyone else, so seniority was as per the Foot Guards:
1. Grenadier Guards
2. Coldstream Guards
3. Scots Guards
4. Irish Guards
5. Welsh Guards
A column of Churchills of various marks in Normandy, being led by the No.7 Troop Leader’s Mk VII of ‘B’ Sqn, 147 RAC. Note the ‘157’ serial on the lower hull and the Troop number helpfully painted within the ‘B’ Sqn square on the canvas muzzle-cover.
6th Guards Tank Brigade
The Foot Guards had various unique, quirky and non-standard designations for companies and squadrons. The 4th Grenadiers and 4th Coldstreamers each numbered their squadrons 1, 2 & 3, while the 3rd Scots opted for the rather bizarre ‘Right Flank’, ‘Left Flank’ and ‘S’ Squadrons. This led to some strange conversations with officers from other regiments, who were easily (and understandably) baffled by statements such as “Right Flank Squadron is over there, on the left flank.”
A Churchill Mk IV of 3rd Scots Guards in Normandy (note the ‘154’ serial).
A Churchill Mk IV (75mm) or Mk VI of 4th Grenadier Guards (‘152’ serial) during the Winter of 1944/45.
A Churchill Mk III, IV, V or VI of 6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying US Paratroops of the 17th Airborne Division after crossing the Rhine in 1945.
Sometime shortly after the end of the Normandy Campaign, all independent Armoured Brigades and Tank Brigades were ordered to adopt the standard marking scheme shown here, which was already in use by the Armoured Brigades of Armoured Divisions. However, this order was only sporadically obeyed. There is photographic evidence to show that 6th Guards Tank Brigade obeyed the order, though kept the white ‘Army Troops’ bar beneath the sign. I don’t know if 34th Tank Brigade ever obeyed the order.
31st Tank Brigade by that stage belonged to 79th Armoured Division and were no longer independent. In any case, the 1st Armoured Brigade (Sherman Crabs) was already using this scheme within 79th Armoured Division. 31st Tank Brigade therefore kept their old markings, even though the diagonal stripe indicated Army Group Troops, which they had ceased to be since joining an Armoured Division.
A Churchill Mk IV of 3rd Scots Guards in 1945, displaying the new ’53’ serial (with white ‘Army Troops’ bar).
The Troop number was commonly painted inside the geometric squadron sign and was usually painted in the same colour. White was also sometimes used. Troop numbers were sequential through the regiment, so ‘A’ Sqn had 1-5, ‘B’ Sqn had 6-10 and ‘C’ Sqn had 11-15. Sqn HQs typically used ‘HQ’. Regt HQ tanks did not normally have anything within their diamond symbol, though there were unit exceptions (I’ve not seen anything specific for Churchill units).
Tanks within each troop were further differentiated by a callsign. The Troop Commander would simply be identified by the troop number, while his two subordinate tanks would add the suffixes ‘A’ and ‘B’. These suffixes were sometimes painted alongside the troop number within the squadron sign, but this was not common. Callsigns were sometimes painted on the turret rear or on a removable plate attached to the turret rear.
Squadron signs were commonly in-filled with black while training in the UK, but this was rarely seen in NW Europe.
* This example was seen on a Churchill Mk III* of ‘B’ Sqn, 153 RAC in Normandy.
Wargaming Representation
In game terms, as a player of Battlefront: WWII, all my armies are organised at a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3. A Churchill Squadron of 19 tanks therefore boils down to 7 models – five models each represent a Troop of three tanks and two models each represent a pair of tanks in the SHQ, like so:
1x Churchill Mk III*/IV/VI 75mm Command Tank
1x Churchill Mk V 95mm Close Support Tank
3x Churchill Mk III*/IV/VI 75mm Tanks*
2x Churchill Mk III/IV 6pdr Tanks*
* Alternatively, for 34th Tank Brigade in Normandy, the ratio of 75mm to 6pdr tanks could be reversed.
‘C’ Sqn 9 RTR, 31st Tank Brigade, before the arrival of Mk VII on 12th July 1944.
Following the introduction of Mk VII tanks, the squadron looks like this:
1x Churchill Mk VII Command Tank
1x Churchill Mk V 95mm Close Support Tank
1x Churchill Mk VII Tank
2x Churchill Mk III*/IV/VI 75mm Tanks
2x Churchill Mk III/IV 6pdr Tanks
‘C’ Sqn 9 RTR, 31st Tank Brigade, with Churchill Mk VII included
If you prefer to use a blanket 1:2 ratio, you could add another two tanks.
Models & Painting
All the Churchill models shown above are Flames of War/Battlefront Miniatures models, painted by me. The Humber Scout Car is by Peter Pig.
All Churchills of the period were painted all-over in Standard Camouflage Colour (SCC) 15 Olive Drab. You can find recipes for EXACT matches of this shade online and some paint-manufacturers are now producing perfectly-hued paint, but I’m a wargamer, not a modeller (I’m also a lover, not a fighter; which is ironic, as she doesn’t ‘alf put up a struggle…), so I find standard Humbrols to be a good enough match for me.
I start with a thin black undercoat, then paint the tank all over in Humbrol 75 Bronze Green. I then do a second coat with Humbrol 159 Khaki Drab, leaving some Bronze Green in the deeper shadows. I tend to find that the Bronze Green base deepens the final colour. I then paint on the markings and do a final dry-brush with Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I mentioned AVREs earlier, so I might talk about those next time…
The Churchill Mk IV had exactly the same armament and the same hull as the Mk III, though had a cheaper, cast turret with a distinctive rounded profile. This turret would also go on to be used in the Mk V and Mk VI (as well as Mks IX-XI, which were up-armoured Mks IV-VI but never saw active service during WW2).
The Churchill Mk V was essentially the same tank as the Mk IV, though had a 95mm Close Support Howitzer as its main armament. Each Tank Squadron HQ had a pair of these and this remained essentially unchanged throughout the campaign.
The Churchill Mk VI, as mentioned above, was the 75mm-armed variant of the Churchill Mk IV. Many Mk IVs were upgraded with 75mm guns and are commonly referred to as ‘Mk VI’, but proper Churchill Mk VI tanks were factory-built as such. Factory-built Mk VI tanks eventually became the majority Churchill type in NW Europe as they replaced Mk III* and Mk IV (75mm) combat-losses.
The Churchill Mk VII was a significant improvement on earlier Churchill marks, with a completely redesigned composite (part-cast, part-welded) turret and an improved hull. The turret looked somewhat similar to that of the Mk III, but had a thick ‘rim’ around the bottom edge and ‘cheeks’ either side of the gun-mantlet. The hull’s rectangular side-hatches and MG port were now replaced by circular versions. The biggest improvement was in terms of armour-protection, which exceeded that of the Tiger I. However, the main gun was still the standard 75mm, which meant that if two Churchill Mk VIIs squared off against one-another, they would struggle to knock the other out…
The Churchill Mk VII Crocodile was a further development of the Mk VII to create a formidable flamethrower tank. The most obvious difference between a standard Mk VII and a Crocodile was that the Crocodile was equipped with an articulated armoured trailer to keep the flamethrower-fuel and propellant gas safely OUTSIDE the tank… The other difference was that the hull machine gun was replaced by the superlative flame-projector. This meant that the Crocodile, unlike most other flamethrower tanks, retained a turreted main gun that could be used for long-ranged engagements.
One regiment of 31st Tank Brigade (141st Royal Armoured Corps or ‘141 RAC’) was equipped with Crocodile in time for the D-Day Landings, though only two Crocodile Troops were landed on 6th June and they only fired some 75mm and MG ammunition – no flames! 141 RAC spent the entire Normandy Campaign largely divorced from their parent brigade, being split up into Squadron, Half-Squadron and Troop-sized detachments, supporting various units. On one occasion they even supported the Americans in assaulting a Napoleonic fortress at Brest. This meant that 31st Tank Brigade had to soldier on with only two Tank Regiments (7 RTR and 9 RTR). Note that 141 RAC was NOT a part of 79th Armoured Division at this time, although it would often work alongside the ‘Funnies’.
However, in September 1944 the 31st Tank Brigade was formally absorbed into 79th Armoured Division as an ‘All-Crocodile’ Brigade. 7 RTR was also now converted to a Crocodile regiment and both they and 141 RAC now wore the triangular yellow badge with the bull’s head of ‘Hobart’s Funnies’. 9 RTR had transferred out to 34th Tank Brigade, but 31st Tank Brigade was finally brought up to strength in November 1944 with the addition of 1st Fife & Forfar Yeomanry as its third Crocodile regiment.
As discussed 
Again, I’m starting with something of an oddball unit, as the Gendarmes d’Élite were more of a military police unit than a cavalry regiment and for the first half of their existence included an infantry element. They were nicknamed ‘The Immortals’ by the rest of the Guard, as they would very rarely be committed to battle. However, they did occasionally fight en masse, particularly from 1812 onward, and did well in battle.
I must admit that these figures, like the Mamelukes, are fairly redundant for me as the Gendarmes were rarely present in sufficient strength to be fielded on table as a separate unit and they’re NEVER going to appear as a 12-figure unit! The highest battlefield strength I can find for them is in September 1813, when they had 536 men present and on-strength. That equates to around 7 figures for 
Shabraque and square valise were dark blue, edged with a double row of white lace and an Imperial Crown badge at the rear corners. Like the Empress’ Dragoons, the Gendarmes d’Élite had three holster-covers on each side of the saffle, again heavily decorated with lace. Like other heavy cavalry regiments, the (dark blue) cloak was normally stowed on top of the valise with the (scarlet) lining exposed. Horses were (ideally) very dark bays.
Trumpeters wore ‘reversed colours’ of a scarlet habit with dark blue lapels, cuffs, tail-turnbacks and scarlet collar, all edged in white lace and with white buttonhole-lace on the lapels. Some sources show a blue collar. The aiguillette, contre-epaulette and trumpet-cord were of mixed crimson & white threads. Some sources show the positions of aiguillette and contre-epaulette as being the same as the rank-and-file, while others show them reversed, as for officers (the figure has them reversed, with the aiguillette on the right shoulder). Plume was scarlet with a white tip. Equipment and horse-furniture was the same as for the rank-and-file. On campaign a surtout could again be worn in lieu of the habit. This seems to have initially been sky-blue with crimson facings and white lace, but changed to match the habit colour of scarlet with blue facings and white lace.
The trumpeter’s uniform changed during Royal service in 1814/15 to a sky-blue habit with crimson facings, laced as before. This was worn with a bicorne hat that was edged in white lace and a fringe of alternating crimson & white ostrich-feathers. This was topped off with a tall white plume. Horse furniture was now sky-blue with white lace as before. This uniform was worn during the 1815 Campaign.
This regiment was formed in 1806 from selected cavalry troopers of the Line and officers from the Chasseurs & Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde. Initially comprising three squadrons, with a total strength of just over 800 men, the regiment was presented by Napoleon to his wife and titled La Régiment de Dragons de l’Impératrice (The Empress’ Dragoon Regiment). Following its baptism of fire during the Battles of Eylau and Friedland in 1807, the regiment was expanded to five squadrons, with a little over 1,250 men. The regiment was rapidly reformed in 1813 following massive losses in Russia and was increased to six squadrons, though the 5th and 6th Squadrons were designated as Young Guard. Following Napoleon’s abdication in 1814, the regiment was incorporated into the restored Royal Guard. In 1815 they returned to the Eagles and fought at Ligny and Waterloo.
The uniform consisted of a dark green habit, with white lapels, green collar, scarlet tail-turnbacks and scarlet cuffs, white cuff-flaps and brass buttons. An aurore aiguillette was worn on the right shoulder and an aurore contre-epaulette was worn on the left shoulder. The tail-turnbacks were decorated with aurore grenade badges, outlined in white. The habit could be replaced on campaign with a simpler single-breasted surtout, which was coloured the same as the habit, except that it lacked lapels and cuffs.
And so to the last one: Although originally raised as light cavalry in 1799, the Grenadiers à Cheval ‘properly’ started life in 1800 as the junior regiment of the Consular Guard, with the Chasseurs à Cheval being the senior regiment. Within few months, the regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Marengo. In 1804 the Grenadiers à Cheval, along with the Chasseurs à Cheval and the Mamelukes, became the cavalry arm of the Imperial Guard. By 1812 the regiment had expanded to five squadrons and over 1,000 men, but the terrible Russian Campaign reduced that number to fewer than 200. Rapidly reconstituted in 1813, the regiment took to the field again with four Old Guard squadrons and two Young Guard Squadrons. With the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, they became part of the restored Royal Guard, but returned to Napoleon’s side in 1815 for their final campaign in Belgium.
The Grenadiers à Cheval were uniformed and equipped very similarly to the Empress’ Dragoons described above, except that the habits, surtouts and shabraques were dark blue instead of green. Details of facing colours, lace, aiguillettes, epaulettes, equipment and officers’ distinctions were all exactly the same as the Empress’ Dragoons. The obvious difference is the headgear: the Grenadiers à Cheval wore a tall black bearskin cap, which was fitted with brass chinscales. On the back of the cap was a red patch, decorated with a cross of aurore lace (gold for officers) and on the left was the national cockade. In full dress a scarlet plume was fitted just above the cockade and aurore flounders were suspended on the right. Aurore cap-lines were also sometimes worn in full dress. Unlike the Empress’ Dragoons, the saddle had only two holster-covers on each side and horses were blacks or very dark bays.
The two Young Guard Squadrons formed in 1813 seem to have worn the ‘undress’ version of the standard Grenadiers à Cheval uniform, namely the plain blue campaign surtout, which had plain collar and cuffs, no lapels and scarlet tail-turnbacks. They didn’t wear the Old Guard aiguillette, but they did have an aurore contre-epaulette on each shoulder. All other aspects of uniform and equipment seem to have been the same as the Old Guard squadrons.
At long last, with the completion of the Mameluke Squadron of the Guard, I’ve finally ‘finished’ my French Imperial Guard… OK, perhaps I might eventually get some greatcoated Old Guard infantry for 1815… and I should probably spruce up those Berg Lancers I’ve got here somewhere… and perhaps add some Young Guard cavalry for 1813… and perhaps some Eclaireurs for 1814… and perhaps the 3rd ‘ex-Hollandais’ Grenadiers for the hell of it… oh and the Neapolitan Guard Horse Artillery were in the Guard for a while… and… oh bugger…
Anyway, until I start adding more, here are the cavalry of my ‘completed’ Imperial Guard. As usual, all models are by 
I’ll start with an oddball unit: the 2ème Gardes d’Honneur. Following the disastrous Russian Campaign of 1812, Napoleon wanted to rapidly expand the cavalry arm, so placed a levy on the nobility and wealthy bourgeoisie of the Empire (including the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy) requiring them to send one of their sons, equipped and mounted, to become a member of his personal bodyguard (a cash levy was imposed on those without sons to send). As an incentive, these new recruits would form part of the Emperor’s ‘personal bodyguard’, would be paid the same as Chasseurs à Cheval of the Guard and after a year would be commissioned as Sous-Lieutenants.
I painted these chaps about 20 years ago and used French Hussar figures, which fit the bill perfectly except for the very minor detail of the shako-badge. These figures have the lozenge-shaped badge of the Hussars, while the Gardes d’Honneur had an eagle & crescent badge. All four regiments wore the same uniform of green dolman with scarlet facings, green pelisse with black fur edging, scarlet breeches and scarlet shako, with all lace and cords white and metalwork silver. Green overall trousers with a red (or white) stripe were worn on campaign. Shako-plumes were green, with pompoms coloured by company (there was no élite company). Shabraques were simple white sheepskins with green vandycked edging, with a green valise, laced white. Belts were white and sabretaches were plain black leather with a silver eagle badge.
The Chevaulégers Polonais de la Garde were initially raised in 1807, though at that time were not equipped with lances. Then in 1809, at the Battle of Wagram, the Chevaulégers Polonais distinguished themselves while in combat against the Austrian 2nd (Schwarzenberg) Regiment of Uhlans, using captured Austrian lances against their former owners with great effect (the lance being the traditional weapon of Polish light horse). Consequently, Napoleon ordered that the regiment be equipped with lances and re-named as the Chevauléger-Lanciers Polonais de la Garde.
In 1810 the creation of the 2nd Regiment of Guard Lancers (see below) meant that the Polish Lancers of the Guard were now designated as the 1er Chevauléger-Lanciers (Polonais) de la Garde. A 3rd Regiment of (Lithuanian) Guard Lancers was briefly raised in 1812, but ceased to exist at the end of the Russian Campaign.
As mentioned above, the 2ème Chevauléger-Lanciers de la Garde were created in 1810, being raised from the Dutch Royal Guard Hussar Regiment. Additional officers were drawn from other Dutch cavalry regiments and further drafts of men were drawn from Dutch hussars serving in Spain. Consequently, this regiment was often known as the ‘Dutch Lancers’. By the time they went into Russia in 1812 the regiment had grown to a colossal 1,400 men.
The uniform of the 2ème Chevauléger-Lanciers de la Garde was arguably one of the most spectacular uniforms of the period, being a scarlet kurtka jacket with dark blue facings, yellow epaulette with blue crescent, yellow aiguillette and yellow metalwork, worn with scarlet trousers with a double blue stripe. This was topped off with a scarlet czapka cap, adorned with yellow lace and the same ‘sunburst’ plate as the Polish Lancers. White plumes and yellow cords were worn in full dress. Lance-pennants were white-over-scarlet and shabraques were dark blue, edged yellow with a scarlet valise, also edged in yellow lace. Dark blue overall trousers with a red stripe were worn on campaign and a simplified ‘undress’ jacket in sky-blue cloth could also be worn as campaign dress. Trumpeters again had a white version of the uniform, but would often wear a simple sky-blue jacket on campaign.
The Chasseurs à Cheval were the oldest regiment of the Imperial Guard, having originally started life in 1796 as General Buonaparte’s Squadron of Guides de l’Armée d’Italie. After becoming part of Napoleon’s Consular Guard in 1800, the Chasseurs were expanded to a regiment of two squadrons in 1801, then to four squadrons in 1802. In 1804 the Consular Guard became the Imperial Guard and the regiment was expanded again t0 five squadrons.
The uniform of the Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde was of hussar style. The dolman was dark green, with green collar, scarlet cuffs and aurore lace. The pelisse was scarlet with aurore lace and black fur edging. All buttons were brass. Breeches were pale yellow buckskin, but green cloth breeches, laced in aurore could also be worn in some orders of dress. Dark green overall trousers with a red stripe could also be worn on campaign. The black fur colpack had a red bag, piped aurore and had a cockade on the left-side, from which sprouted a green plume with a red tip and a pair of aurore ‘flounders’. Belts were white and the sabre-scabbard was steel and worn with a heavily-embroidered sabretache (which could be replaced on campaign with a black leather version, decorated with a brass eagle badge). Shabraque and valise were dark green and edged in strips of aurore and scarlet lace.
The AB Figures Chasseurs shown at the top are modelled on the appearance of the Chasseurs at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 (as shown in the painting above), where the order of dress was to wear their pelisse as a jacket, with the green cloak rolled and worn en bandolier, to provide partial protection from sword-cuts.
Trumpeters had sky-blue dolmans, faced in a pinkish-crimson shade and laced in mixed crimson and gold. These colours were repeated on the bag of the colpack, overall campaign trousers, sabretache and shabraque. The pelisse was pinkish-crimson with black fur edging and mixed crimson & gold lace. Plume was sky blue with a pinkish-crimson tip and flounders were mixed crimson & gold. Some sources have suggested white fur colpacks, but that seems to have been a red-herring, traced back to one Victorian artist (of course, I didn’t find this out before I painted mine…).
the rank and file, except all lace was gold and the fur edging to the pelisse was white. Scarlet breeches could be worn in some orders of dress. Leopard-skin shabraques were also de rigeur among the beau sabreurs of the Chasseurs á Cheval de la Garde! Senior officers might also have white egret plumes.
The Young Guard Squadrons wore the same dolman jacket as the Old Guard Chasseurs, though they were not issued with a pelisse. Dark green cloaks were again commonly worn en bandolier, as shown here. Trousers were dark green with a double aurore stripe. Instead of the fur colpack, the headgear was a scarlet shako, decorated with a brass eagle badge, edged in aurore lace and topped off with an aurore pompom. The tall rouleau style of shako was also worn. Equipment was the same as the Old Guard Squadrons, though the sabretache was of the plain black campaign style. The shabraque and valise were scarlet, edged dark green and the saddle was covered by a white sheepskin, edged in dark green cloth.
This last unit of light cavalry is something of an indulgence on my part and will never see action in a game, other than as an additional stand or two of figures to beef up the strength of the Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde in some scenarios. Even at their absolute maximum strength, the Mamelukes in game terms would only be represented by 3 figures at the 1:80 ratio I normally game in (using Napoleon’s Battles rules)! In most scenarios, the Mamelukes would only add a single figure (maybe two) to the strength of the Guard Cavalry! However, once I saw these figures, I just HAD to paint them…
The Mamelukes originally started life in 1799 as a company (i.e. half-squadron) of mounted Syrian Janissaries attached to the headquarters of General Kléber. By 1800 they had been reinforced by Mamelukes and increased to a squadron of three companies, totalling 300 men, now titled the Mamluks de la République. Many of these men were then brought back to France a new squadron of Mamelukes was created at Marseille. However, difficulties in obtaining recruits meant that this unit was soon downgraded to a single company. In 1803 the Mamelukes were permanently attached to the Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde; an association that would last throughout the Napoleonic Wars. In 1813 a second (Young Guard) company was formed from Frenchmen and the Mamelukes were once again designated as a full squadron.
With Napoleon’s abdication in 1814, seven Mamelukes accompanied the Emperor into exile, while the remainder (now reduced to a company again) joined the Royal Guard. By this date, only eighteen ‘true’ Mamelukes were still with the unit and these men were massacred by the population of Marseilles! However, the squadron was formed again in 1815 and 94 former Mamelukes rejoined the unit, which was once again attached to the Chasseurs.
Anyway, that’s it for now. The Guard Heavies are next and that should finally finish off my Guard.
Just a short post this time, covering the Foot and Horse Artillery of the French Imperial Guard. I’ve finally finished the Guard Cavalry, so will save them for the next post!
I painted the Imperial Guard Foot Artillery a very long time ago, right back when 
The Guard Horse Artillery were painted much more recently, in 2015, for our Waterloo Bicentennial games. Again, these are by AB Figures and at the time they replaced some 1980s-vintage Battle Honours Guard Horse Artillery, which were also sculpted by Tony Barton and were very nice in their day, but had been battered to hell and back during the intervening 30 years…
I’m pleased to say that the painting on these is MUCH better than that on the Foot Artillery! 🙂
As part of the Waterloo Bicentennial project I painted the AB Figures Guard Horse Artillery mounted officer figure to represent 
That’s it for the Artillery of the Guard. It’s the Cavalry of the Guard next time…
Here’s the last of my Burma stuff for the time being; namely some elements of the Royal Artillery.
You might be wondering why I need to have model artillery, as the artillery will ordinarily be flippin’ miles away and only represented on table by Forward Observation Officers (FOOs) and by the effects of fire (unless you’re playing the frankly odd Flames of War, of course). That’s certainly the case with my usual rules, 
Above: A Field Battery of 
Units with a full scale of motor transport would typically use Universal Carriers as Observation Post (OP) vehicles for the FOOs, but units on a light scale of transport might use Jeeps or even mules to carry the necessary radios, batteries, field-telephones and cable-spools. Many Field Regiments became ‘Jungle Field’ Regiments (consisting of 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzers and 3-inch Mortars) while the campaign was fought in the dense, mountainous jungle of the Burma-India border. However, they transitioned back to a heavier scale of motor transport following the defeat of the Japanese offensive at the Battle of Imphal in 1944, in anticipation for the Operation CAPITAL counter-offensive into central Burma, where the road network was far more extensive and where the terrain was far more suited to mechanised warfare.
The battery is indicated by the smaller blue square marking, which has one quadrant (here the lower-left quadrant) coloured red. The position of the red quadrant shows the seniority of the battery within the regiment – 1st Bty top-right, 2nd Bty bottom-right, 3rd Bty bottom-left and 4th Bty top-left, so this is the regiment’s 3rd Battery. The white letter indicates the Troop (in this case ‘F’ Troop – the 3rd battery of a Field Regiment would have ‘E’ & ‘F’ Troops, so the other Troop will have the same marking with ‘E’ instead of ‘F’). The Carrier has ‘RF’, which indicates the Troop Commander’s OP Vehicle for ‘F’ Troop.
Some more Royal Artillery for Burma, but this time it’s a Troop of 
As with most things in XIVth Army, the organisation of Light AA and Anti-Tank units changed quite dramatically as the war progressed, based on the nature of the terrain, enemy tactics and the ability of XIVth Army’s strained logistical system to supply units in the field. At the start of the war, the 7th Indian Division had the standard organisation of separate LAA and AT Regiments; namely the 122nd LAA Regt RA (with three LAA Batteries) and the 6th Indian AT Regt IA (with four AT Batteries). In August 1943 these units were replaced by the combined 24th LAA/AT Regt RA, which had two batteries each of LAA and AT.
In terms of markings, note that unlike Field Artillery and AT units, LAA units tended to paint the markings on their guns. I’ve absolutely no idea what the Arm-of-Service serial was for an LAA/AT Regt, so I’ve simply given them ’47’, which was the serial for an infantry division’s LAA Regt (the AT Regt used ’46’). The Battery markings were much the same as the Field Battery markings mentioned above (note that the upper-right quadrant here is red, indicating the 1st Battery of a regiment), except that they had three Troops per battery, so the 1st Battery would have A, B & C, the 2nd Battery D, E & F and so on. AT Batteries also had three Troops (of four guns each).
The Troop is served by a pair of 
Wheeled armoured recce isn’t exactly what you might imagine as being suitable for the Burma Campaign, as in the main they were limited to the extremely sparse (bordering on non-existent) motorable road network. As a consequence, a lot of recce units, such as the 2nd Recce Regt, 11th (East African) Recce Regt, 81st & 82nd (West African) Recce Regts replaced their armoured cars and scout cars with Jeeps and just retained a few tracked Universal Carriers, while 45th Recce Regiment was completely converted to Chindits. The Indian 7th Cavalry Regt traded in its armoured cars, scout cars and Carriers in 1943 for Stuart light tanks. The 3rd Gwalior Lancers (XV Corps Recce Regt) did things a bit differently and instead had a 50/50 split of Carriers and horsed cavalry. The West African Recce Regiments even converted in late 1944 to waterborne recce, using native Arakanese small water-craft called khistis. The recce element of most infantry divisions meanwhile, was a ‘Scout Battalion’ consisting simply of light infantry with no weapons heavier than Brens.
Armoured Car Regiments typically organised with three squadrons, each with five Armoured Car Troops of 2-3 armoured cars and 2-3 scout cars, a Heavy Troop with heavy armoured cars, SP guns or mortars and a Support Troop of two motorised infantry sections, equipped to conduct limited sapper tasks such as detecting and lifting mines. However, this basic organisation was modified quite extensively due to the tactical, environmental and logistical limitations of the Burma Campaign and the number of squadrons was reduced to three. The squadron organisation for 16th Light Cavalry varies with the sources and both versions might be true at different times: one source states that each squadron had two Armoured Car Troops, three ‘Jeep Troops’ (i.e. Jeep-motorised infantry) and a Heavy (Mortar) Troop, while another source suggests three Armoured Car Troops, two lorried Rifle Troops and a Heavy Troop (both sources agree that the mortars were self-propelled).
The Daimler Armoured Car, Dingo, Jeeps and Dodge Weapons Carrier models are by Skytrex. The India Pattern Carrier and infantry are by Flames of War. The India Pattern Carrier has a spare plastic mortar added from a Team Yankee M113 APC kit.
As discussed in 
Above: A Field Company of Indian Engineers. I painted these for our Bovington demo game, as the scenario required a Field Company of the Bombay Sappers & Miners, who were tasked with supporting the assault by bridging nullahs (ravines), clearing minefields and destroying enemy fortifications. These are a mixture of Flames of War ‘Italy British’ Sappers, Peter Pig XIVth Army Infantry in Bush-Hat and Peter Pig XIVth Army Sappers.
Engineer Field Companies were roughly double the strength of Infantry Companies. Like the infantry they had three platoons, but each platoon had six sections instead of three (this is essentially the same basic organisation as that used in Europe). In game terms, there’s one Commander stand and eighteen Sapper Section stands (three platoons of six), three of them armed with flamethrowers (one per platoon).
The vehicles are marked up for 62 Field Coy Indian Engineers (Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers & Miners), 7th Indian Infantry Division (‘Golden Arrow’). The unit arm-of-service marking is the usual engineers’ cobalt-blue square, with ’51’ serial. The divisional sign was a golden arrow (pointing roughly to 10 o’clock) on a black disc.
The Valentine Armoured Bridgelayer isn’t actually an Engineer vehicle. They were operated by Independent Bridging Troops of the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC), with one such troop being assigned to each Indian Tank Brigade Headquarters (50, 254 & 255 Indian Tank Brigades). The supremely talented Martin Small converted this for me from a standard (and very ancient) Valentine Mk III model by pre-Flames of War Battlefront Miniatures. In reality the bridgelayers lacked sand-skirts, but the only available model at the time had cast-on sand-skirts, so we were stuck with them. Although difficult to see, this one carries the markings of Brigade HQ, 254 Indian Tank Brigade.
I’ll leave you with some more photos of Martin’s lovely model bridgelayer:
I’ll start with an Indian Army battalion of Sikhs. These were originally painted to represent the 4th (Sikh) Battalion of the 12th Frontier Force Regiment, for our 
In terms of organisation, Infantry Battalions by this stage of the war in Burma typically had four rifle companies, each of three rifle platoons. There was no Support Company organisation, but there was always a Mortar Platoon of six 3-inch Mortars and a Carrier Platoon of four sections. In many cases, the Carrier Platoon lost its Carriers and either got Jeeps or went on foot as a very strong infantry platoon with 12x Bren Guns, used as recce and/or fire support. There was also usually a Sniper Section and an Assault Pioneer Platoon. Anti-Tank Platoons were universally disbanded and turned into other uses such as additional Jeep or Mule Transport Platoons. Battalions might also get a Vickers MG Platoon of four guns if the division had no MG Battalion.
